


alien customs

by dammitmccoy



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-26 16:11:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20933036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dammitmccoy/pseuds/dammitmccoy
Summary: “Jim, what the fuck.”“It’s how the Lx’ll say ‘hello’.”“By biting someone’sear?”





	alien customs

**Author's Note:**

> _oct 6- biting / chivalry is dead_

“Jim, what the fuck.”  
  
“It’s how the Lx’ll say ‘hello’.”  
  
“By biting someone’s _ear_?”  
  
“To be fair, their ears are a lot longer so it’s more like a handshake. Maybe a little bit more painful, like if someone on Earth had really long nails.”  
  
“Still doesn’t answer why I was just greeted like that.”  
  
Bizarrely, Jim went a bit pink.  
  
“Well, gotta practice different customs, never know when it will come in handy.”

With that Jim finally moved them from the doorway of Leonard’s quarters, planting himself on the couch and pouring himself a glass of bourbon from the bottle already one the table.  
  
Leonard rolled his eyes. “By all means.”

He joined Jim on the couch, setting the incident aside as just another one of Jim’s quirks in favor of watching the monstrosity of a movie Jim decided on tonight (another quirk).  
  
-  
  
Leonard didn’t think about it much in the next few weeks until the mission to Yubbec. Routine, blah blah blah, surprise! warring faction the government tried to hide from Starfleet!, running, phasers, splitting up, hiding. Now he was stuck in what was essentially a broom closet with Spock. One of those days.  
  
Neither were hurt so Leonard considered it a step up from the last time the two of them were split up together for a long period of time. This conversation had no veil of delirium mitigating the full force of Spock’s conversation skills. Leonard finally cracked and suggested a break, in so many words. The silence had lasted for 40 minutes so far.  
  
It proved to be worse than the verbal sparring (as Jim liked to call it).  
  
Leonard’s mind wandered freely, eventually landing to the ear biting experience from a few weeks ago. He smirked with a sudden thought.  
  
“Spock, what are you going to do on a visit to Lx’ll?”  
  
“I do not understand, Doctor. Have you knowledge of an upcoming mission?”  
  
“No, just musing. That ear biting custom would be a bit awkward, don’t you think? Probably up there with the handshakes Vulcans endure from enthusiastic but unknowing humans.”  
  
“I fail to see how that custom could affect a delegation.”  
  
Leonard squinted at Spock, he could have sworn Vulcan ears-  
  
“And as I am in a fulfilling relationship, the opportunity to carry out that custom would not occur.”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Doctor, on several occasions you yourself have alluded to my relationship with Nyota-“  
  
“No, Spock, not that, the Lx’ll custom.” Leonard was proud of the restraint (a little) he put into that.  
  
“As you brought it up, I believed the full extent of the customary greeting amongst lovers was known to you.”  
  
_Lovers._  
  
“He failed to mention that.”  
  
“Who did, Doctor?”  
  
“Don’t worry about it, Spock.”  
  
-  
  
They were in that broom closet (_“This is actually a storage room for-“ “Spock, does it really matter?”_) for 9 hours total. The rescue was anti-climatic in the end. The fallen statue was removed, the doorknob was turned, and the two joined the rest of the landing party back outside and in range of the transporter.  
  
Jim was waiting for them.  
  
“Have fun in Heaven?”  
  
“Captain, as you are aware, we were not in ‘Heaven’ but…”  
  
“Earth custom, Spock, probably too wild for the likes of Vulcan.”  
  
Leonard felt his eyebrow twitch at the mention of alien customs.  
  
“Bet you rocked Bones’ world anyway.”  
  
_Jim, if you only knew_.  
  
-  
  
Later, after Leonard checked in with Medbay (in meticulous condition as usual, like he’d every say that out loud), he found himself outside of Jim’s quarters.  
  
The door swished open.  
  
“Bones! There you are, I’ve been trying to get out of Spock what you two did for-“  
  
Jim broke off as Leonard stepped forward into his personal space, leaned in, turned slightly to the right, and gently nipped Jim’s earlobe.  
  
Jim’s sharp intake of breath wasn’t followed by any harsh words or attempts to pull away.  
  
Satisfied, Leonard smirked, “All you had to do was ask, Jim, no need to bastardize an alien custom.”  
  
Jim let out a puff of air like a laugh.  
  
“Was hoping to try a few more before I worked up to it in plain Standard.”  
  
Leonard nipped Jim’s ear again, this time harder.  
  
Jim gasped, hand flying up to Leonard’s shoulder. He turned his head, met Leonard for a kiss (finally).  
  
Jim’s hand snaked up Leonard’s neck, “How long till I get the chance to bite something else?”  
  
“You’re terrible.”  
  
“You didn’t answer.”  
  
Jim’s yelp accompanying the surprise pinch to his hipbone perfectly placed his ear back within Leonard’s reach.  
  
“Darlin’, what makes you think that question needs words to answer?”  
  
(It didn’t).

**Author's Note:**

> idk what this was 
> 
> find me on [tumblr](https://dammitmccoy.tumblr.com/)


End file.
